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L'enclume part 2: the main event

19/5/2011

11 Comments

 
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L'enclume: meet the neighbours
Cumbria is rich in the UK's finest ingredients and this has heavily influenced Chef Simon Rogan's cooking. But rather than just focus on local suppliers, he's gone a step further and L'enclume now has its own farm. While it is still early days (only the farm's second season), the farm is nevertheless already supplying many of the herbs and vegetables that you'll find on your plate at L'enclume. In time, that proportion will grow of course but what it also guarantees is that while most restaurants talk of seasonal menus, at L'enclume, they really mean it. With the farm now part of the supply chain, central to the success of L'enclume will be Rogan's ability to constantly change the menu according to what he's got growing (and what's ready) on the farm while maintaining the standard and precision in his food.

At much acclaimed restaurants like Heston's Dinner, one gets the sense of fixed menus with little if anything ever really changing over time, much like his three star gaff The Fat Duck. We don't wish to be seen to be picking on Heston here, but at the point of unchanging menus, development genius is superseded by industrial production. At L'enclume, the menu is, every day, in the hands of the chef. That in itself makes it exciting but also allows a chef no room for complacency.

And if all that weren't challenging enough, L'enclume wont use foreign ingredients in their cooking. They use Cumbrian ingredients as a preference, then North West, then UK products. Accordingly, you'll never find a lemon in the kitchen, rather, if they want acidity, they use (amongst other things) juice from the grapes they grow on their own farm. But in adopting this approach, they also embraced quite independently the current food zeitgeist (which makes it yet more puzzling that L'enclume has not itself been more warmly embraced).  
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Returning from the farm to L'enclume
Our pre dinner snacks today are fried garlic leaves and duck sweetbreads. Few people seem to have heard or had duck sweetbreads and we fully admit it was our first time to try them: L'enclume gives us another delicious revelation. Another one bite snack to start the real menu, Blood pudding in bread. This is followed by the most beautiful looking Chick pea wafer, cream cheese, herbs and flowers dish. It tastes as good as it looks. If you're reading this and thinking about Noma, we'd not be surprised, there's lots of crossover points of which we'll discuss more later. Today in 'Simon's sack' it is Asparagus with crab and rye toast.
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Blood pudding in bread
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Chick pea wafer, cream cheese, herbs and flowers dish
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Asparagus sacks with crab, and rye toast
An off menu item follows: cod mousse in a turmeric skin, crispy salt and vinegar wild rice, bacon, and cream of egg and bacon. Totally wow with some visual and taste games taking place on the plate, more El Bulli than Noma, or rather, totally L'enclume.

Millet pudding with grains and Blackstick blue (cheese), burnt pear and alexanders, with bone marrow on top and a herb sauce is next out, again, first class. Pickled radish and Bessy beck trout, rocket and bronze fennel dazzles you from the plate with what seems like a sheet of radish, and following this, it is vintage potatoes in onion ashes, lovage and wood sorrel. It was Noma where we first came across vintage potatoes (a small second growth potato) in a similar sort of dish. The extensive use of flowers and herbs, even on desserts, and a menu more vegetable-herb based than protein based. It reminds us of Noma.

But here's the rub: suggest to most chefs that the plates they serve could easily grace the tables at Noma and you'd expect a big smile at the very least, but here, it's not exactly the case. Yes there's the foraging and the use of local ingredients but L'enclume is not trying to imitate or even emulate Noma, rather, they've independently arrived at broadly the same philosophy and both execute it equally well. Really, L'enclume is as good as Noma. But while the world goes Redzepi crazy, as said in our Part 1 post, Simon Rogan is not enjoying similar recognition (currently) so you might want to leave your Noma comparisons at home when you visit. 
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cod mousse in a turmeric skin, crispy salt and vinegar wild rice, bacon, and cream of egg and bacon
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Millet pudding with grains and Blackstick blue (cheese), burnt pear and alexanders
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Pickled radish and Bessy beck trout, rocket and bronze fennel
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vintage potatoes in onion ashes, lovage and wood sorrel
Still lots of food to go, carrots with ham fat and nasturtium had added significance for us as we ourselves had pulled these very carrots out the ground earlier in the day. Then came Salt baked white vienna (kohlrabi) in kale leaf, thyme and chicken offal. The surprise here was the chicken offal ragu, tasting of the most concentrated ragu that you could imagine, what flavour!

We'd been looking forward to the next course since seeing it on the menu: native lobster in pig skin, cabbage (sauce), grilled wild leeks, pink purslane. Lobster in a rough crispy pork skin is both delicious and in our experience totally original. 

The last of the savouries is Herdwick Hogget (a one year old sheep), creamed salsify, cider and chenopodiums (a flowering herb). And a sweatbread on top. This was a stop the clock moment. The Hogget tasted better than any lamb we had ever had, it was a taste sensation and again represented a bold move by Simon in not simply opting for a milk fed lamb course. This was food at its very best.
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carrots with ham fat and nasturtium
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Salt baked white vienna in kale leaf, thyme and chicken offal
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native lobster in pig skin, cabbage (sauce), grilled wild leeks, pink purslane
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Herdwick Hogget, creamed salsify, cider and chenopodiums
Three desserts closed out the menu. First, Poached rhubarb with ginger bread and sheeps milk. Second, Coniston oatmeal stout ice cream, apple, sweet brackens and malt, finally, Sweet cheese (ice cream) with beetroot (ice cream) and walnuts. Like yesterday, the desserts were fresh, light and totally contemporary. The desserts are also vibrant, texturally interesting and bring interesting contrasting elements together.
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Poached rhubarb with ginger bread and sheeps milk
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Coniston oatmeal stout ice cream, apple, sweet brackens and malt
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Sweet cheese (ice cream) with beetroot (ice cream) and walnuts
What an exciting two days of eating it was. And how brilliant was L'enclume: no stale ideas, no lazy plates, no 'me too' approach. Simon Rogan with L'enclume offers what we believe to be a totally unique food experience in the UK and one that made the 280 mile journey worth it. If 3 Michelin stars is defined as 'exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey' then L'enclume is most certainly that. 

We must also say that the front of house team were excellent and made us feel not only welcome but cared for, exhibiting a genuine interest in our overall well being while staying at L'enclume. 

We always knew that great restaurants don't begin or end with Michelin stars or Mayfair post codes but L'enclume more than any other perhaps drives that point home. Creative, original and brilliant food by people who care in a beautiful part of the world. What further enticement do you need to go?  

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Related posts: L'enclume Part 1

11 Comments
fine diner
20/5/2011 04:15:49 am

i ate at l enclume last year had 15 courses out of which 9 were cold dishes , when i go out i expect the chef to cook for me they started serving us the wrong menu the front of house team were running around like mad men banging into each other, one course was more or less a lamb milkshake i can eat anything but that was to much. The veg they use is not up to 3 star quality for a real treat you's should head to germany especially venedome and christian bau's restaurant victor's in schloss berg you will be truly blown away by the huge difference in this restaurants and anything that britian can offer.

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Deanna Thomas link
20/5/2011 12:12:24 pm

I told you you wouldn't care whether it was raining or not in the end.

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Gastronorm
22/5/2011 04:43:43 am

@fine diner. I have to be honest that it is hard to fully respect your opinions as you can't even ensure the grammar/punctuation in your comment is correct.
Seems like you went on a off night which is a shame, the lamb milkshake sounds strange, I have eaten here and it was incredible.
Yes, Vendome is a superb Restaurant but let's face it they are operating through a hotel and charge pretty steep prices, so it had better be bloody good.
Are you are going to tell me that they grow their own vegetables/herbs/flowers and serve them literally hours after picking them?
I agree Germany is really up there with the best in the world right now but to say there is a huge difference in anything Britain has to offer? I think that is rubbish.
The quality of food in the pictures speak for them self, and to think that somewhere like Noma rightly gains huge praise for what they do but somewhere like L'enclume is only starting to come to light. Let's remember as well that L'enclume was foraging, using herbs/flowers and working with very local surroundings/ingredients a long time before Noma was even open! where is the recognition for that? and although it doesn't hold 3* it is surely worth 2*.

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fine dinner
23/5/2011 08:22:42 am

@Gastronorm Sorry for my grammar/punctuation it has never been a strong point of mine only writing i ever do is signing my name.
With maybe the exception of maybe the fat duck britian does not have a world class restaurant at the very top end of fine dining britian is way behind other countries Gordon ramsey, Waterside inn, and ducasse at the dorchester are barely 3 star level and more probarly good 2 star level.
And as for l'enclume worthy of 2 stars it only takes an inspector to visit on an off night like the one i had (as you put it) and they have no chance off getting another star.

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John D
26/5/2011 08:04:26 am

How much did you pay for this meal CC?

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thecriticalcouple
26/5/2011 10:52:10 am

John D

don't know if this is a general enquiry but it sounds like you are asking if our meal was comped given the positive review? The answer is no, we paid the full restaurant price for all food and drink consumed over the 2 day period. The full tasting menu is £89 (per their website).

regards.

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SB link
2/7/2011 07:55:14 pm

I didn't realise L'Enclume only has one star. That said, I have never visited the restaurant myself but from what I experienced at Roganic, I assumed L'Enclume was a two-starred restaurant to cook such a uniquely stunning and high quality meal at its "pop up" restaurant of barely two weeks in its opening!

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DM
10/6/2012 01:41:53 am

"with the exception of the Fat Duck Britain does not have a world class Restaurant" @Fine diner (or Dinner!).....clearly you've never been to Gidleigh Park (which can compete with the best French classic restaurants), Sat Bains (who only just got his second star...long deserved in my opinion and is as innovative as they come) or Restaurant Nathan Outlaw. I'd say they compare well to Mugaritz (No 3, ESP), Martin Berasategui (No 67, ESP), The tasting room at Le Quartier Francais (No 57 Franschoek ZA) and Asador Etxubarri (No 31, ESP) all of which we visited in the last year and are in the SP Top 100 2012!

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anntionette link
10/8/2013 11:31:53 am

The food looks magnificent,art on a plate,certainly a picasso at best,but sorry won"t be trying after watching the Trip with Rob Brydon and Sreve Coogan I like food on a plate, give me lunch at Sharrow Bay any time, the food is amazing!!

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Scotlandeatsout link
30/6/2014 11:52:02 am

Loved reading this review, we are going on Saturday and your review has made us even more excited!

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TCC
30/6/2014 04:39:00 pm

it's amazing, we're sure you'll have a great time

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